Seven Colorado Springs firefighters have deployed to the western part of the state to help battle a series of wildfires that have burned more than a combined 160,000 acres, officials said.

A four-person crew is assigned to Mesa County, where the Turner Gulch fire has scorched 28,792 acres as of Tuesday evening, according to InciWeb, an incident management website.

This is the second Colorado Springs Fire Department crew that has worked the Turner Gulch fire, said spokeswoman Ashley Franco.

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“We originally sent a crew to the Turner Gulch fire on July 13,” Franco told The Gazette. “That crew of four was there for two weeks. Two days after they returned, we sent the crew that is currently there.”

The crew is providing structural protection and will serve as an initial attack team on any new fires in the area, Franco said.

The Turner Gulch blaze, which started July 10, is 51% contained, according to incident officials.

Three CSFD firefighters and a deputy fire marshal are in Rio Blanco County, where the Lee and Elk fires have burned more than 130,000 acres. At 116,859 acres late Tuesday, the Lee blaze had become the fifth-largest wildfire in Colorado history. It is currently at 6% containment. The Elk fire burned 14,549 acres and was 30% contained Tuesday.

The Colorado Springs crew is providing structure protection and helping to safeguard livestock on evacuated properties whose owners could not take them, Franco said.

“They have saved multiple structures from burning,” she said.

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The deputy fire marshal is serving as a community liaison on the Elk and Lee fires, keeping local residents informed on the latest developments.

CSFD frequently assists wildland firefighting efforts in Colorado and across the U.S., officials said. In 2024, they deployed to 16 wildfires in eight states, including Colorado.

“We have a multitude of mutual aid agreements and are part of several different resource teams that can be deployed in the event of a wildfire,” Franco said.

The CSFD deployments, which started last week, are expected to last two weeks. Firefighting services in Colorado Springs are not negatively impacted by the deployments, Franco said.